With no published minutes, no livestream and fewer than 20 people present, the Arizona State Schools for the Deaf and the Blind Board of Directors voted last week to cap teacher salaries and freeze raises.
The meeting is the latest twist for ASDB, mired in controversy as it moves its Tucson campus, lays off dozens of staff, faces a $3 million deficit and a lawsuit from families who were told to find new schools for their students.
A new salary cap will max-out teachers’ pay and experience at both ASDB campuses — in Tucson and Phoenix. The board voted April 2 for the cost-saving change in a special meeting that may have violated Arizona’s open meetings laws, which say meeting minutes that include a record of how each member voted or a recording should be available “three working days after the meeting.” As of April 8, no meeting minutes or recording were available on the ASDB website.
ASDB’s own meeting policies also say “Written or recorded minutes shall be taken of all regular and special ASDB Board meetings, including executive sessions and shall include the information required by A.R.S. § 38-431.01. The written minutes or recording shall be available for public inspection three (3) working days after the date of the meeting, except for confidential executive session minutes.”
Meeting minutes are being compiled and “should be available within the next week or so. No recording is available,” ASDB spokesperson Tricia Beckham said in an email to Arizona Luminaria Wednesday morning.
Arizona Luminaria also reached out to the Arizona Attorney General’s Office for a response on the open meeting issues but has not received a response.
The vote came at a special board meeting, held at the ASDB Phoenix campus, with less than 20 in attendance, according to people at the meeting who requested anonymity because they fear retaliation from ASDB administration. Many Tucson staff could not attend the meeting because it was held in Phoenix at the end of a school day.
Two board members voted for the new salary schedule, two abstained and one voted no, according to two people who attended the meeting. Although it was a public meeting, Beckham said the vote was not unanimous and said she could not share how each member voted.
The salary schedule issue was previously tabled during the March gathering in Tucson. Last week’s meeting was not livestreamed, as those meetings typically are.
In addition, board member Diana Herron has resigned, Beckham confirmed. It was the second time in 2026 a board member has left. Tucsonan and former ASDB assistant superintendent Bill Koehler resigned in February.
Salaries for incoming ASDB teachers will be capped at 10 years experience instead of the current 25 years. The maximum salary will be less than $66,000 for a teacher with a doctorate and 10 or more years of experience.
The Tucson and Phoenix campuses have 161 teachers, including those in the early learning program and itinerant services, who will return next year, Beckham said. School savings based on the caps and freezes will depend on the number of new teachers hired to begin in July, she said. Signed teacher contracts are due April 10.
The caps come on top of layoffs for about 60 staff members in Tucson this summer, many of whom work with visually-impaired students. ASDB is in the third year of a $3 million deficit and announced in January that it will shut down its Tucson campus this summer and move to Oro Valley.
“Board members recognized that ASDB needs to prioritize recruitment and retention of highly qualified teachers and professional staff, and at the same time, achieve long-term sustainability of the agency through reductions in the number of staff and reductions in expenses,” ASDB Superintendent Annette Reichman said in an email to staff this week.
Reichman’s email also outlined key points of the 90-minute meeting, which included an in-depth discussion with human resources and the board.
Current ASDB teachers will not see salary reductions, Beckham said. However, ASDB cannot commit to current annual 2.5% teacher raises, and all teachers may receive whatever annual increases ASDB can offer to teachers, professional staff, and staff — if and when the budget has sufficient funds to cover pay increases, the email said.
The possibility of fewer or no raises and the new salary schedule make recruitment and retention more difficult, many say.
“ASDB already faces the challenge of recruiting and retaining highly qualified educators in specialized fields such as Deaf education, Blind and visually impaired education, and DeafBlind instruction. These are not typical teaching positions. They require specialized certifications, language skills, and a deep understanding of the unique learning environments our students need,” said Katie Sienko, president of the Arizona Association of the Deaf via email.
One last senior night at ASDB
Senior night: Buba Gannes holds a 10 x 12 picture in his left hand and peers in through the double doors of Frank Sladek Gym. Moments earlier, he dribbled down the basketball court, looking to pass to a teammate in the final game of ASDB’s season. Instead of… Keep reading
ASDB alumna Lisa Furr, concurs.
“Without consistent step growth or cost-of-living incentives, this may create challenges for teacher morale, retention, and recruitment especially at a time when educators are already facing rising living expenses,” Furr told Arizona Luminaria in an email interview. “It also sends a difficult message to teachers who remain after recent staff reductions.
“The newly approved salary placement schedule appears to primarily affect new hires and future salary growth, which raises concerns about ASDB’s ability to attract and retain highly qualified teachers over time,” she said. “I believe this could have a direct impact on student services and long-term program stability.”
ASDB, opened in 1912, will shut down its 56-acre Tucson campus on the west side and move deaf and hard of hearing students to Oro Valley on July 1. The move will force many students, including those who are blind or low vision and those boarding at ASDB, to find a different school.
In February, 15 families filed a lawsuit, saying the transition violates state and federal law. The complaint alleges the school did not give families enough input and notice and says the ASDB administration moved forward with plans to close programs for blind and visually impaired students while “maintaining or prioritizing programming for deaf and hard-of-hearing students.”
The Tucson ASDB campus has 114 students in grades K-12, and about 30 of those learners are blind. ASDB says it will offer cooperative sites at Pueblo High School and Morgan Maxwell K-8 in the Tucson Unified School District.
At its May Board of Directors meeting, discussion will focus on similar salary schedule changes for related services personnel and interpreters, Reichman’s email said.
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